FORT PIERCE, Fla. — Fort Pierce police said Tuesday evening a patient who escaped from HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital, where he was being held for a mandatory mental health evaluation, has been located.
Richard Caldwell was found just before 6:30 p.m. near a marshy area at Okeechobee Road and Interstate 95.
He had been missing since about 10 a.m.
Despite having a history of violence, police had said that there was no danger to the community.
This isn’t the first case this year we’ve reported when someone has left HCA Lawnwood when they shouldn’t have.
Back in February, 19-year-old Justice Reynolds, an inmate from the Everglades Youth Academy in Okeechobee, walked out of the hospital one night while in the custody of Juvenile Justice. He was recaptured a month later in Orlando.
Regarding Tuesday's incident, a statement from HCA Lawnwood said: "The safety of our patients is our highest priority. We appreciate the work of law enforcement, who are still actively searching for the patient who left our hospital without authorization."
Authorities said Caldwell was at HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital under a Baker Act hold, which is a mandatory mental health evaluation for a person that law enforcement or the court system believe may be a danger to themselves or others.
